THE REDEMPTION TOUR ROLLS ON:

"I care about a lot of the people, but I don't really care about the censure," he said ahead of the expected condemnation from his state's Republican Party. "There are a lot of really good people involved in party activism. But I don't think they're at all representative of regular Nebraskans ... Nebraska is a lot Trumpier than I am. But I got a lot more votes than he did."

Sasse just won a race down-ballot from Trump and is as relaxed as one can be about his political situation. He's facing no internal pressure in the Senate for his vote to convict Trump of incitement of insurrection. A previous censure in 2016 did not rattle his views. If there's a model for how to successfully build a conservative GOP out of Trump's shadow, it might as well be him.

But Sasse can't quite be replicated. He's a bit of a loner in the Senate, both in style and substance, someone who can't comprehend how cable news hits, partisan congressional speeches and the culture wars have come to dominate politics.

That's not to say Sasse isn't bothered by Nebraskans spending their Saturday targeting Sasse's vote to convict Trump. In fact, he's perplexed that Republicans in his state even worked on Super Bowl Sunday to censure him.

"You want to go to some hotel, strip mall conference room and scream about a politician who tried to tell you: 'I would oppose somebody in my own party who violated their oath?'" he marveled. "That's not healthy."

Strong opinions came to Sasse easily during a 30-minute interview in his Capitol hideaway. Of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), he says: "That guy is not an adult." President Joe Biden's White House is "cowering" to the opinions of people like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.). Sasse sees Congress itself as little but "a bunch of yokels screaming."

Sasse, 49, has a youthful energy, a rapid speaking pace and an everyman's appeal. When he cracks open his mini-fridge, a hefty selection of Bud Light cans reveals itself. He has a dry sense of humor, deadpanning of his beloved Cornhuskers' recent struggles: "Half of all presidential impeachments in U.S. history happened before Nebraska won another Big 10 game."

He is not an especially active participant on either the Senate floor nor within the GOP's party meetings. He devotes much of his time to the Senate Intelligence Committee, which he finds most fulfilling among his assignments. And like most younger, rising players in either party, Sasse sidesteps the question of whether he's preparing to run for president.

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